Wagah, February 19
Chief Justice of India, V.N. Khare, today crossed over into Pakistan to participate in the SAARC law conference organised by the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be held at Karachi on February 20. Mr Justice Khare is the first CJI to visit Pakistan. He is leading a five-member delegation of Supreme Court judges for the conference.

Mr Justice Khare told newsmen said that SAARC countries would deliberate on various issues relating to judiciary and reforms in it. He said delay in justice and the court management would be the significant points to be discussed.

Other members of delegation include Mr Justice Ramesh Chander Lohati, Justice Ms Kaushalia Lohati, Justice Ms Jai Shree Anand and her husband Mr Anil Parkash Anand and Mr Manoj Sen an official of the Supreme Court. Ms Justice Jai Shree Anand said the conference would help in the understanding laws of SAARC countries.

BSF jawans presented a guard of honour to the Chief Justice before he crossed over into Pakistan. Earlier Mr M.R. Batra, district and Sessions-Judge and Ms Harpreet Kaur, Judicial Magistrate escorted the Chief Justice and other judges to the joint check post.

The Chief Justice of India was accorded warm reception by Mr Iftekhar Choudhry, Chief Justice of Lahore High Court and officials of Pakistan Rangers.

Seeing off the delegation, Vice-Chancellor Dr S.P. Singh said that the university was contemplating academic, sports and cultural exchange programmes with the various universities of east Punjab (Pakistan) to build the academic bonds between the teachers, students, researchers and officers between the two countries. The Vice-Chancellor said that the university was in process of organising sports competitions, youth festivals and seminars in collaboration with universities of Pakistan.

Dr S.P. Singh said the Guru Nanak Dev University was inviting the Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, Lahore to inaugurate the ‘Falklore Congress’ being held in March here.

Dr Narang would present his paper on ‘Language and Politics’, Dr Gurnam Singh would speak on ‘Contribution of Masses of Both Punjabis in the Development of Punjabi Language’, Dr Kuldip Singh would speak on Liberalised Policies and its Consequences’ Dr Jatinder Singh Jolly will present a paper on ‘Globalisation and Pakistani Punjabi Literature’ and Dr Kamaljit Jassal would deliver a lecture on the present literature written in both Punjabs.

Patiala, February 19
Punjab Tourism is set to enter the international arena with INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) deciding to involve State Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh in generating funds for the restoration of Quila Mubarak in Patiala besides focussing on the Patiala-Kapurthala-Amritsar circuit during presentations in the United Kingdom and the United States this
year.

INTACH Vice-Chairman S. K. Misra, who was behind the successful Highway Tourism experiment of Haryana and is the driving force of the Heritage Festivals started in the state, told The Tribune that INTACH was also geared towards creating a Heritage village in Punjab and commencing restoration of heritage buildings in the state.

Mr Misra said a 10-minute film focussing on the damage caused to Quila Mubarak, the fort palace of the Patiala royal house, had been made. It would be presented to the corporate sector in London and the United States. He said the World Monument Fund
(WMF) had already listed Quila Mubarak in its list of endangered monuments and pledged a grant in the ratio of 1:2 with government putting in the major share. Due to the enormous exercise involved, he said INTACH had decided to generate funds globally for the
quila.

INTACH has also decided to release a book “Land of the Gurus” which showcases both the heritage and religious circuit in the state for international tourists. Mr Mishra said while both Patiala and Kapurthala were being targeted for their heritage value, Amritsar was already globally known due to the Golden Temple. He said the book also listed a religious circuit for the convenience of NRIs. A light and sound show depicting the history of Patiala will be the major attraction for next year’s heritage festival.

As far as new tourism initiatives are concerned, INTACH has suggested establishment of a heritage village in the state on the lines of the villages established by it at Pragpur in Himachal Pradesh and Raghuraj in Orissa. Mr Misra said a few villages had been surveyed, including the birthplace of Akbar the Great. At both Pragpur and
Raghuraj, he said, INTACH had followed a holistic approach. The attempt was to ensure total community development by roping in the state government to provide the needed facilities. This model would be followed in Punjab also, he added.

Mr Misra, who is slated to take over as Chairman of INTACH in a few months, said steps were also being taken to initiate work on restoration of various heritage buildings. He said INTACH conservation laboratories would take up the conservation of wall paintings in the Quila Mubarak complex. He said work on paintings in one of the painted chambers had been done for a few years by a UNESCO approved INTACH laboratory earlier also but had been discontinued when the state government did not give the necessary support. He said besides the wall paintings in the Quila, work on restoring the Durbar Hall would also be started in the first phase of restoration of the entire complex.

Chandigarh, February 19
SAD President Parkash Singh Badal said today that none of the candidates named for the Lok Sabha elections would be replaced and those who were opposing the official candidates faced expulsion from the party. The party would not tolerate any indiscipline, the SAD chief added.

Dismissing the demand of Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra for reviewing the nomination of Capt Kanwaljit Singh from Patiala, Mr Badal said the selection of candidates had been made after due consideration of all factors and in consultation with senior party colleagues. Mr
Chandumajra, who was a contender for the party ticket from Patiala, has been building up a pressure on Mr Badal to reconsider the decision taken in this connection.

For the past two days, Mr Chandumajra has been organising meetings of his supporters in various segments of Patiala. He is to hold a rally to show his strength in the constituency on February 23. Sources said Mr Chandumajra would also meet Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee tomorrow. Mr Badal is also scheduled to meet the PM tomorrow to discuss various election-related matters. Mr Chandumajra would request Mr Vajpayee to tell Mr Badal to accommodate him.

Voices of dissent have been raised against the official candidates for the Jalandhar, Tarn Taran, Sangrur and Bathinda constituencies also.

In Tarn Taran, the sitting MP, Mr Tarlochan Singh
Tur, has not liked his replacing by Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala. Mr Surinder
Kairon, a close relative of Mr Badal, is also opposing Dr Ajnala’s nomination. Mr Kairon wanted the party ticket for his daughter-in-law, Mrs Parneet Kaur, who is Mr Badal’s daughter.

Meanwhile, the Punjab BJP has heaved a sigh of relief as Mrs Hema
Malini, who joined the BJP at Delhi today, made it clear that she would not contest the Lok Sabha elections. She is a member of the Rajya Sabha. The BJP high command hinted yesterday that Mrs Malini would be made the party candidate from Hoshiarpur.

Ropar, February 19
There is no move on the part of the BJP to field film stars Hema Malini and Dara Singh as candidates from Punjab in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Mr Avinash Rai Khanna, state president of the BJP, said here today.

He dismissed media reports regarding the fielding of the two film stars from Punjab as “table stories”. Hema Malini and Dara Singh were not primary members of the BJP in the state. Their names had not even been discussed with the state party leadership as yet, he said.

When asked by mediapersons about reports regarding the candidature of Mr Kamal Chaudhary and Mr Charanjit Singh Channi, former Congress MP from the Hoshiarpur constituency, as BJP candidates, Mr Khanna said that none of the leaders had yet approached the state leadership in this connection.

He said the state party leadership would prefer local candidates in the elections. A meeting of the Election Committee of the state has been held. After the second meeting the names of candidates who had applied for the party ticket would be taken up with the Parliamentary Board of the party. The chances of winning would be the main criterion for allotting the party ticket. The names of the party candidates from Punjab were likely to be finalised by the first week of March, he said.

When asked about reports that former ministers of the BJP might not be fielded in the poll, Mr Khanna said that no such decision had been taken.

Mr Khanna said that if given a chance, he would like to contest from the Hoshiarpur constituency.

He said there were no differences between the BJP and the SAD over seat sharing.

Jalandhar, February 19
The state Congress chief H.S. Hanspal today clarified that the names of sitting MPs Balbir Singh and Gurcharan Singh
Galib, from Jalandhar and Ludhiana constituencies, respectively, were included in the panel of the probable candidates, which had been sent to the high command.

Terming the report published in a section of media that the names of above MPs were not included in the panel as “baseless” Mr Hanspal said, “The names of Balbir and Galib are very much on the panel and now it is up to the high command to decide about the candidates”.

About the Hoshiarpur constituency, he revealed that the names of AICC general secretary Ambika Soni and sitting MP Charanjit Singh Channi were included and the final list of candidates would be announced by the party president after the issuance of notification for the parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, the party sources revealed that former Union Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who was offered the constituencies of Jalandhar or Ludhiana, had declined to contest election from either of the seats.
— PTI

Sangrur, February 19
In a show of strength, a large number of supporters of Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, who has been denied the SAD ticket for the Patiala Lok Sabha constituency, today raised slogans at Sunam against Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, SGPC chief, holding him responsible for the denial of party ticket to Prof Chandumajra.

The slogans were raised at a gathering in the presence of Prof Chandumajra who reportedly appealed to his supporters not to raise slogans against Mr Tohra.

Addressing his supporters, Prof Chandumajra said he was going to New Delhi on February 20 to meet Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on his invitation over the issue. Later, on February 24, he would meet the party president, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, in connection with the denial of party ticket to him.

Prof Chandumajra claimed that he had not been consulted by the party before denying him the party ticket. He said if the party had some compulsions, he should be told about the same. He said a big gathering would be organised on February 23 at Patiala to express the sentiments of his supporters and party workers.

Chandigarh, February 19
The state BJP has complained to the Chief Election Commissioner against an advertisement campaign launched by the Punjab Government to project its developmental activities. A list of such advertisements has been attached with the complaint.

Mr Avinash Jaiswal, Vice-President of the state BJP said even though Mrs Sonia Gandhi did not hold any official position in the state government, her picture with a raised hand, the election symbol of the Congress, had been appearing in these advertisements. It was misuse of the state exchequer to promote the interests of a political party, the complaint pointed out.

Chandigarh, February 19
The Punjab Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) chief, Mr Avinash Rai Khanna, today quit as leader of the BJP Legislature Party. His place will be taken by either of the two other BJP legislators in Punjab Vidhan Sabha — Mr Tikshen Sood or Mr Sukhpal Singh Saini.

Mr Khanna said since he could not hold both offices, he preferred to quit as Legislature Party chief.
— TNS

Hoshiarpur, February 19
Four Punjab Police personnel were today suspended following the escape of an undertrial from their custody at Chandigarh bus stand on January 16.

SP (Headquarter) Rakesh Aggarwal identified the suspended cops as head constable Ram Parkash and constables-Kuldip, Narinder and Ram Singh. He said all cops had booked under Sections 223 and 224 of the IPC.

The escapee was Randhir Singh, alias
Dheera.

The police officer said Dheera and Rajinder Kumar were taken out of jail here on a production warrant to a Delhi court of Metropolitan Magistrate on January 15 for a hearing in a case registered against them by the Delhi Police. After their production in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate
M.M. Aggarwal in Delhi on January 16, the undertrials were being brought back in a bus. When the bus halted at Chandigarh bus stand, Dheera asked permission to relieve himself. Allowed to go to the toilet at the bus stand, he did not return and is untraceable since, the officer added.

The two undertrials were facing charges of dacoity and theft in two cases here.
— UNI

LUDHIANA:
A one-time cess to raise a Rs 200-crore corpus for state agricultural universities has been mooted by PAU Vice-Chancellor
K.S.Aulakh. The proposal will come up for discussion at a two-day conference of the Vice-Chancellors of the agricultural universities which began in Delhi on Thursday.

Dr Aulakh has maintained that as the agricultural universities are facing a financial crunch, many new projects are not being undertaken for want of funds. This fund could be strengthened by providing budgetary support to the state agricultural universities to the extent of 1 per cent valorem of the total value of agricultural produce brought for sale in the state markets. Dr Aulakh has informed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) that the Punjab Government has agreed to this proposal, besides promising to release the first instalment of Rs 15 crore to the
PAU.

Dr Aulakh has further proposed that the state governments should give matching grants for projects under the
NATP, which were funded by the World Bank, but the same had expired in December. Many such projects are in operation and if no immediate funds are made available, the desired results may not be achieved.

The PAU Vice-Chancellor has further suggested that the designations of various scientific positions in the ICAR and the agricultural universities should be made uniform. The PAU has set up a committee to examine issue.

The Vice-Chancellor has emphasised that in view of the shrinking public sector job opportunities, higher education must be selective and demand driven so as not to add to the army of the highly educated unemployed. Higher education can also be sponsored by the users. Industrial houses and public sector organisations related to agriculture could be roped in to finance higher education.

Dr Aulakh has stressed that there is need for state agricultural technology parks so that different agricultural technologies developed over the years can be demonstrated to the students effectively.

It is also felt that a majority of the candidates qualifying for admission through a national-level test should be given fellowships to finance their studies.

LUDHIANA:
The Punjab Agricultural University has suggested establishment of centres of excellence in various state agricultural universities to give boost to the research on different aspects of agriculture. This proposal has been sent by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, to the two-day conference of the Vice-Chancellors of the state agricultural universities being held in Delhi.

The Vice-Chancellor has suggested that PAU’s Department of Plantbreeding and Genetics and Soils and Water management be declared as centres of excellence.

The Vice-Chancellor has asserted that Punjab Agricultural University has played a major role in wiping out the deficit of the country in foodgrains and making it self-sufficient. Foodgrains production in Punjab has risen from 2 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 25.4 million tonnes at present. The Department of Plantbreeding and Genetics of PAU has released a total of 286 varieties of field crops and one fifth (63) of which were released at national level for cultivation in other states as well.

Some of the outstanding varieties like WL 711 of wheat, COJ 64 of sugarcane, C235 and L 550 of gram and Vijay of maize have been successfully cultivated in other countries. The department has the distinction of being the leader in the world in many areas of basic research as well as for development of unique types of varieties.

Regarding the Soil and Water Management Department, the university has claimed that PAU has highly competent faculty trained within and outside India in different disciplines of soil and water management and has experience in handling a large number of national and international-funded projects. Future agriculture requires judicious use of fragile production base to conserve the soil and water resources with emphasis on maintenance of present levels of productivity and high input use efficiency. There is a need to shift emphasis from generalised to specific recommendations in relation to soil, climate and resource management considerations. The resource inventories developed through GIS and computer based soil and water management models combined with traditional research would be extrapolated to develop a system of precision farming. The centre will also provide technical know-how and infrastructural facilities for imparting training at different levels in soil, water and environmental sciences.

PAU has also proposed for starting postgraduate diplomas in bovine reproduction, PG diploma in poultry science and PG diploma in veterinary clinical microbiology, PG diploma in interior decoration, PG diploma in food preservation and baking, PG diploma in fashion designing and PG diploma in management of creche and nursery school etc. etc. The university has also decided to start a new agri-business management programme.

Hoshiarpur, February 19
As many as 23 passengers, including 11 women and six children were injured when a private bus (PB-07F-5696) collided head-on with a Mahindra Jeep (HR-09-5696) near Ghasipur village on the Hoshiarpur-Dasuya road today. All injured were admitted to Civil Hospital here. Five injured — Sonu Singh (13), Santosh Kaur (18), Kulwinder Singh (9), Avtar Singh (45) and Happy (22) were referred to DMC Ludhiana.

Mr Kirandeep Singh Bhullar, Deputy Commissioner Hoshiarpur, visited the hospital and gave Rs 20,000/- from the District Red Cross Society Hoshiarpur for the treatment of the injured referred to DMC.

COMMUNITY

Take NGOs’ help to tackle female foeticide: PHRCA. S. Prashar
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 19
The Punjab Human Rights Commission has asked the state government to take the help of NGOs and other social workers to tackle the growing problem of female foeticide which was resulting in a skewed
male:female sex ratio in the state.

“An awareness campaign should be launched by taking the assistance of different advertisement agencies so that the society is made aware that a girl child is no longer a liability in the family. Rather, she can also excel in every field like a male member. Respect for women must be instilled as she is the creator of the humanity”, said Justice N.C. Jain, Chairperson and Justice
R.L. Anand, member of the PHRC in an order pronounced on two memoranda addressed to the commission by the Indian Medical Association on the issue.

The birth of a female child was also a gift of nature and God and a definite element of human right was involved when a female was destroyed or killed in the womb of the mother.

The order said if this practice was allowed to continue, a yawning gap would be created between the ratio of males and females in the state, especially in the districts of Bathinda and Amritsar where the killing of female foeticide was rampant. This imbalance could create, in none too distant future, such social and human problems in the society as might be difficult to tackle with the passage of time.

Inspite of the fact that tall claims were being made by the government machinery to the effect that stern action was being taken against the doctors indulging in this illegal practice, the fact of the matter was that the state machinery had not be able to control this problem in a satisfactory manner as a result of which the instances had come to the notice of the commission where unscrupulous doctors were indulging in this trade of killing female babies in the womb of the mother.

The commission noted that the state government had taken several steps to check the menace. A high level state advisory committee had also been constituted under the chairmanship of Mrs Preneet Kaur, MP, representing the Patiala constituency and various suggestions by the committee had already been implemented. A State Supervisory Board had also been constituted. All the ultrasound and genetic centres had been registered in the state.

Fortyseven FIRs/courts cases had been launched in the state for violation of directions issued in this regard. Action had been taken directly by the authorities against 31 centres by virtue of temporary suspension and cancellation of registration. In one case, a fine of Rs 1,000 had been imposed on a centre for violation of the act.

However, the commission was of the view that the vigorous steps should continue on the part of the government and stringent efforts must be taken against the guilty. The awareness programme should be launched on a war footing otherwise grave imbalance would be caused in the society leading to other social problems besides criminal acts. The commission was fully aware of the problems which the government might face in view of the natural urge of the society for a male child which could not be eliminated with a magic want.

Fatehgarh Sahib, February 19
To boost the interest of women entrepreneurs in establishing their own businesses by accelerating the flow of credit and giving training to them in various disciplines like finance and marketing, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) organised a gender sensitisation conference here today. Mr.S.K. Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the meet.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Ahluwalia, Deputy Commissioner, said it was a matter of pride that the district had topped in the state by forming 575 self-help groups to uplift the living standards of the families living below the poverty line and 370 such groups had been provided with the loans to start their work. He said besides this, 183 more self-help groups would be formed during the current year.

The Deputy Commissioner directed all banks to sanction loans on priority to weaker sections of society under various government-sponsored schemes according to the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India. He urged the bank to increase the credit flow to women for their economic and social development. He said the banks in the district had not only achieved but exceeded the target of advancing loans to various sectors for creating more avenues for self employment.

He said Rs 60 lakh had been advanced as loans under the “Swarn Jyanti Urban Employment Scheme”. Under the “Prime Minister’s Employment Scheme”, 434 cases had been sponsored and out of these 201 cases had been sanctioned. He said the khadi village industry had cleared various projects and Rs 160.91 lakh had been forwarded as loans to those who had started their own businesses. He said to encourage dairy farming in the district, 20 projects of dairy farming had been sanctioned and Rs 36.28 lakh had been advanced for these.

Mr Ahluwalia urged the youth to start their own businesses and not depend on government jobs. He said the Fishries Department had earmarked Rs 18.74 lakh to sanction as loans. The Dairy Department had sanctioned loans worth Rs 107.35 lakh. He directed all government agencies to achieve their targets of sanctioning the loans in time. Mr B.S. Shergill ADC(D), Mr Dhirinder Kumar, AGM, Nabard, Mr Ashwani Mahajan and Mr M.L. Guru also spoke.

Amritsar, February 19
A number of transfers and appointments had been made at the ‘behest’ of legislators and other VIPs of the ruling party causing injustice and harming public interest, said Mr Satya Pal Dang, senior CPI leader in a letter to Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. He cited a case of ‘dislocation’ of Dr Jagjit Kaur a handicapped woman doctor a year before her retirement.

Dr Jagjit was a Deputy Medical Commissioner (DMC) Amritsar with additional charge of the district hospital here since March 2002.

She was given this posting in a city after 22 years of service in rural area.

Mr Dang said that the DMC proceeded on sanctioned leave in September last year for three months. Two days after rejoining, she was ‘relieved’ as in charge of the district hospital and the charge was passed on to a junior doctor.

Merely nine days later, she was relieved as DMC and posted Medical Superintendent, (MS) Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital flouting government’s guidelines not to allow any ‘dislocation by transfer’ of an employee during last two years of their service’, Mr Dang asserted.

Further Dr Jagjit was disallowed to join as MS on some pretext or another.

The entire episode has resulted in Dr Jagjit being without a posting for more than a month. He said that it seemed to be a case of favouritism. Mr Dang demanded suitable action in the matter.

Phagwara, February 19
The three-member Railway Panel set up to probe causes of rail accident in Santokhpura level crossing killing five persons, including three of a family, on February 2 has reportedly submitted its report holding gateman Balwant Singh negligent.

Railway sources said today that the findings had been forwarded to Zonal Railways headquarter New Delhi recommending charge-sheeting of the gateman under various provisions of the Railway Act.

The report says that the mishap could have been averted had the gateman not opened the barrier, it was learnt.

The panel was constituted by DRM Firozpur Division Dharam Singh on February 2.

Five persons, including motorcyclist Vikas Agnihotri, his wife Monica, one-and-half-year old daughter Isha, disabled school head teacher Hardip Singh and rickshawpuller Rajan were killed when the Jammu-bound 2471 Up Swaraj Express ploughed through people at Santokhpura level-crossing on February 2.

Amritsar, February 19
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has decided to release a special souvenir and commemorative coin on the 500th birth anniversary of the second Sikh Guru, Guru Angad Dev.

The SGPC assistant secretary, Mr Rup Singh, who presided over the organising committee meeting here yesterday for celebrations, said the SGPC would release a special commemorative 12-volume set of books containing Guru’s Bani and life history.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Raminder Singh, said to celebrate the centenary celebrations of Guru Angad Dev and for the 400th Parkash Utsav of Guru Granth Sahib, the administration had requested the government to release Rs 2 crore.

Chandigarh, February 19
The Punjab Government has constituted an empowered committee headed by Finance Minister Lal Singh to commemorate the 500th parkash utsav of Guru Angad Dev.

Besides two subcommittees have also been formed — one to monitor development programmes and the other to organise sports. The former is headed by Excise and Taxation Minister Sardul Singh and the latter by Minister of Sports Jagmohan Singh Kang.

An official spokesman said here today that the 18-member empowered committee would take up tasks connected with the celebrations at Khadoor Sahib and Sarai
Naga.

Bathinda, February 19
Owners and employees of different goods transport companies lodged a protest with
the local Improvement Trust when auction of plots in the Transport Nagar started today.

The transporters, who raised slogans against the Improvement Trust authorities for backtracking from its promise to allot residential and commercial plots to goods transporters on the reserve prices and on priority, alleged that the trust authorities had been doing injustice to them.

They also submitted a memorandum to the SDM, Bathinda, regarding their demands.

Earlier, the Bathinda Goods Transport Association had urged the Deputy Commissioner and Chairman, Improvement Trust, Bathinda to make arrangements for the allotment of plots to the goods transporters of the area in the Transport Nagar, on reserve prices.

Mr Ram Singh, president of the association, alleged that though the Transport Nagar was being set up to shift all transport companies to one spacious place to overcome the problem of vehicular traffic and pollution in the town, the plots were allotted to general public by the trust authorities by holding a public auction today.

They added that this was done despite the fact that goods transporters were promised by the then deputy commissioner, Mr Anurag Verma and Local Bodies Minister, Punjab, Mr Jagjit Singh, that they would be allotted plots as per their requirement in the Transport Nagar on reserve price.

They added that if the plots were not allotted to the goods transporters for setting up their business premises there, there would be no relevance of setting up the Transport Nagar in the city.

They demanded that the state Chief Minister, Capt. Amarinder Singh, should intervene in the matter and ensure that goods transports get plots on reserve price.

Amritsar, February 19
An unidentified Pakistan national was shot when he allegedly tried to infiltrate into Indian territory from the Rorawala side on Tuesday evening. The Gharinda police has registered a case.

Mr Bhan Singh, Inspector, 19 Battalion, Border Security Force, in his complaint to the police alleged that the accused tried to sneak into the Indian side at about 9.45 p.m. When the BSF patrol challenged the accused and asked him to stop, he tried to run away. The BSF jawans opened fire killing him on the spot.
— OC

Dera Bassi, February 19
More than 200 animals received treatment at an animal welfare camp organised under the Adarsh Pashudhan scheme at Himayunpur Tisambli village near Lalru here today.

A team of veterinary doctors led by Dr
P.K. Bansal, Senior Veterinary Officer, Dera Bassi, examined the animals. Special arrangements for laboratory tests were also made. Besides administering vaccines, medicines were also given to animals free of cost.

Dr Vishnu Bhagwan, Assistant Director, Patiala, presided over the camp and made the farmers aware about various animal welfare schemes launched by the department.

Representatives from Dairy Development Department, Punjab, fisheries and fodder inspectors also spoke on the occasion.

Amritsar, February 19
In the news item ‘Records of two hospitals seized’ published on February 18, the name of Ranjit Hospital was
inadvertently mentioned in list of hospitals. The line may be read as ‘Mundh Hospital in the Ranjit Avenue and not in Ranjit Hospital’.

PATIALA
HERITAGE FESTIVAL

Zila follows in father’s footsteps
Gurvinder Kaur

Patiala, February 19
When Ustaad Vilayat Khan named his daughter after Amir Khusrao’s raag Zila Kaafi, little would he have known how prophetic the name would turn out to be, for Zila Khan, daughter of the internationally acclaimed master of the sitar, is every bit as melodious as her namesake. Coming from Arabic origins the word Zila literally means ‘roots’ and Zila has indeed provided true to her roots by partaking bountifully of the legacy left to her.

In a finally whose musical lineage traces back to seven generations of famed musicians, she is the first woman who has taken up singing professionally. Faced with the awesome stature her forefathers enjoy, Zila has had to work twice as hard to silence critics who insist on regarding the children of eminent artists as mere appendages. Trained in both classical and semi-classical forms of singing by her father, Zila chose the path she treads today at the age of 12 albeit after she convinced him of her passion towards the same.

Here to perform at the Heritage Festival, Zila professes,” If I can merely imbibe the essence of Abbaji’s genius, I shall consider myself blessed. That God has granted me the opportunity of understanding the‘divine gift’ that is music is enough inspiration to carry on learning.”

Following the musical trail blazed by her ancestors Zila has managed to cultivate her own distinct style of singing. Steeped in the tradition of the Ettawa Gharana, she has acquired a proficiency in singing musical forms such as the Khyaal, Thumri, Kajri, Qaul, Qalbana and Sufiyana Kalaam. However, what sets her apart is her style of rendition wherein she sings each form without trying to mix the styles.

Arriving in the city after performing for two consecutive nights in Kenya and Muscat, the singer barely had time to take in the ambience before she took to the stage. “It is a privilege to sing here. However, I am also a little apprehensive. After all Patiala has always been known as a garh of music,” says the singer. Her deep and resonant vocal tones pervaded the Qila Mubarak after she opened her recital with Raag Malhaar. Creating a rapport with the audience almost instantaneously, she regaled them with bandishes set in Nat, Sur and Mia ki Malhaar.

Her ‘Lat uljhi Suljha ja’ in raag Behaag was a treat in itself and her subsequent rendition of Sufiyana Kalaam by Hazrat Zaheen Shahji brought home tot he audience her mastery over the semi classical form of singing. She rounded up her performance with ‘Kesaria Balam Mahro’ which was sung with perfect voice control over swiftly moving ascent and descent of notes. She was accompanied on the tabla by Basant Lal and Shakil Ahmad, on the sarangi by Ghulam Ali of the Agra Gharana and on the harmonium by Madho Prasad.

Patiala, February 19
On the second day of the international seminar on “Guru Granth Sahib: unique status and place among scriptures”, Prof Sanghasen Singh presented his paper on “Sikhism and Buddhism: different perspectives” here today.

Prof Sanghasen said Sikhism, like Buddhism and Jainism, was an independent religion. He highlighted the similarities and points of difference. The former vice-chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr J.S. Grewal, stressed that Guru Angad continued the conceptual and practical ideology of Guru Nanak Dev.

Bhai Baldeep Singh elaborated the basic contents of ragas, especially “Saruti”, which he stressed was seminal contribution of Gurus. Prof H.S. Virk, a renowned scientist, talked about the concept of reality. He said reality was perceivable and could be proved scientifically. He further stated that it could be proved by applying a method, “Naam”, enshrined in Guru Granth Sahib.

Four papers were presented in the evening session. The session was chaired by Prof J.E. Llewellyn from the USA. In his paper, Prof N.S.S. Raman stated that Sikhism started as a reaction to Vedic ritualism and social order and its philosophy, based on Guru Granth Sahib, was more inspired by Vedanta philosophy than the Vedas.

COURTS

HIGH COURT
Permanent absorption

Chandigarh,
February 19
On a petition filed by five police officers challenging “permanent absorption” of para military personnel in the Punjab Police, a Division bench of the high court on Thursday directed that permanent absorption against the existing cadre shall remain stayed.

Taking up the case against the state of Punjab and other respondents, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice M.M. Kumar also fixed March 5 as the next date of hearing.

Terming the move as illegal, unconstitutional and arbitrary, besides being violative of principles of natural justice, Mr Jatinder Singh Aulakh and other petitioners had earlier contended that there was no provision for absorption of persons on deputation under the relevant rules framed in 1959. Moreover, the action was likely to affect their rights and service conditions.

Arguing on the petitioners’ behalf, counsel had asserted that respondents had not been relieved from their “parent service” and still belonged to their “parent department”. This was not all. There was contradiction to the claim of the respondents.

Giving details, counsel asserted that on the one hand the personnel were being absorbed permanently in the Punjab Police, on the other, it was “stipulated that they would not have any claim on promotion to Indian Police Service”. This condition, he asserted, was illegal and unconstitutional.

Selection of JBT teachers

The high court on Thursday impleaded Punjab’s Director, Sports, as a party in a petition challenging the selection of JBT teachers in the sports category.

The orders were passed by a Division Bench of the high court, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice M.M. Kumar, on petition filed by Ms Seema Arora.

Chandigarh, February 19
Taking up a petition filed by officials recruited in the Punjab Armed Police on the basis of outstanding achievements in sports, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today vacated earlier orders, passed by another Bench, staying the reversion of the petitioners. The officials were seeking the quashing of show cause notices issued to them in this regard.

Pronouncing the orders in an open court, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar and Mr Justice S.S. Grewal, held that they were prima facie of the view that the writ petition “regarding relief relating to show cause notices” was pre-mature.

This, the Bench added, was because at present only show cause notices had been issued. As such there was no need for granting interim protection to the petitioners. The judges also granted liberty to the petitioners to move the court as and when any order of reversion was passed.

Another Bench of the high court, comprising Mr Justice
H.S. Bedi and Ms Justice Kiran Anand Lall, on February 5, had stayed the reversion of the petitioners for a week. Subsequently, the other Bench, comprising Mr Justice Nijjar and Mr Justice Grewal, had extended the interim arrangement, while adjourning the hearing of the case for today. No orders on merits, staying the reversion of the petitioners, were passed by the Bench on that date.

Claiming to have represented the nation in different games at international level, Sub-Inspector Kanwarjit Singh and 10 other petitioners had asserted that on a petition filed by Sub Inspector Swaran Singh they were being reverted on the ground that their promotions were in excess of 10 per cent quota provided in the Punjab Police Rules. However, they had not been impleaded as a party in the petition even though they were affected by the judgement.

Amritsar, February 19
Mr Pushwinder Singh, Judicial Magistrate here has issued non-bailable warrants against Chief Regional Manager (CRM), of the United Bank of India, Delhi in a case of fraud under Sections 420, 409, 467, 468, 471 of the IPC.

The Judical Magistrate held that “Mr Bhattacharya is ordered to be summoned through non-bailable warrants of arrest for April 26, 2004. A notice to his surety be also issued for the date fixed for next hearing (April 26, 2004).”

The third alleged conspirator, Gurminder Singh Goldy, alias Soni, was also presented in the court and sent to judicial custody. Interestingly, Lakha, husband of Baljit Kaur, who is in police custody, also appeared in the court.

Asked to comment on his arrest, Goldy refused to comment, but his lawyer said he had been falsely implicated in the case and had been picked up from Barnala area, whereas the district police claimed that he had been arrested from the Ropar bus stand while going towards Sirhind railway station.

ADMINISTRATION

e-governance net for
all offices of DCs
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 19
All offices of district commissioners in Punjab are to being brought under the e-governance net. Stating this while inaugurating a conference on “e-Security, Cyber Crime and Law” here today, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, Mr Jai Singh Gill, said already a “fair amount” of e-governance was functional at the district level.

He said recently e-governance services had been introduced in
Ludhiana, where residents could avail facility such as online payment of bills. Tenders of various government departments were also being released onto the internet, he added.

The two-day conference is being organised by the locally based Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA). About 250 delegates from various parts of the country are attending the conference.

In his keynote address, Mr Sivarama Krishnan, Principal Consultant (Global Risk Management Solutions), Price Water House Coopers, New Delhi, said security over the internet was a cause for concern. He said information security did not merely deal with protection of information, but also ability to use it. He also spelt out a strategic guide for business in relation to information security.

In his welcome address, Mr V N Ojha, Director-General, MGSIPA, said though internet had created a lot of interest in government as well as private life, the main concern was security and confidentially of data.

The Director, Information Technology, Chandigarh Administration, Mr Vivek Atray, stated that in a paper-less society, e-security was very essential. He was of the view that the implementation of the IT Act in the country was not very effective and there was a need to spread greater awareness about information security and cyber crime.

Besides a plenary session, in which an insight into e-security was given by Mr Ananda Bose from IBM India Limited, four technical sessions were held where experts in the field presented papers relating to network security and data security.

Security risks and compliance issues and strategies and tactics for their management, legal liabilities arising from security issues, policies and procedures, and experience in e-security implementation were among issues being discussed at the conference. Case studies for data and network security, cyber crimes and computer forensics, a relatively new field, were also on the conference’s agenda.

Amritsar, February 19
A senior construction consultant from Malaysia, Mr Bani Hussin, has offered to prepare a report on the construction of an elevated bridge connecting the G.T. Road with the Golden Temple Complex.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Raminder Singh, told The Tribune that on the directions of the Chief Minister construction experts along with the Mayor, Mr Sunil Datti, along with the Municipal Commissioner yesterday inspected the area surrounding the Golden Temple. He said Mr Hussin said the elevated bridge could be connected from the Ram Talai crossing to the Dharam Singh market. The Malaysian expert felt that a tube passage way could be constructed from the Dharam Singh Market to the Ghanta Ghar Chowk.

The Deputy Commissioner said Malaysian experts had been invited by the Punjab Government to decongest the surroundings of the Golden Temple.

CRIME

Custodial death: SHO, constable arrested
Tribune News Service

Sangrur, February 19
The Barnala police has arrested Kulwinder Singh, SHO of the Sherpur police station, and Sohan Singh, constable, of the same police station, for the death of Ravinder Singh (25), Kala Bula village, near Sherpur, on January 18 allegedly in the custody of Sherpur police, the Action Committee, formed in connection with this alleged. Custodial death, will organise demonstration and dharna in front of the office of the SSP of Barnala police district at Barnala on February 20 for alleged failure of to arrest DSP Gurjit Singh and others, allegedly responsible for this death.

Mr Narinder Bhargav, SSP, Barnala police district told The Tribune on the telephone the SHO and the Constable were arrested the previous day.

Mr Sukhdev Singh Batti, Convener of the Action Committee, and senior leader of the CPM (Pasla group), said the 15-member action committee, comprising representatives of political parties, along with people the Sherpur area would march through the Barnala town tomorrow and would also hold demonstration and dharna before the gherao of the office of Barnala SSP for “failure” to arrest DSP Gurjit Singh and other accused.

Rampura, February 19
Mr Darshan Bajakhana, a known liquor contractor of the region, was shot dead by four car-borne unidentified assailants in broad daylight here this afternoon. Mr Bajakhana was going to Bajakhana town from here after lunch at his rented house, located in the Janata locality, when the incident took place.

Mr
Bajakhana, who was driving his own car, was shot dead when he was approaching the Rampura-Phul main road. Mr Gura Singh, driver of the car, and Mr Nand Kishore, brother of the deceased, were with him when the assailants, with covered faces, fired at him from a point-blank range. While Mr Bajakhana died on spot, Mr Gura Singh and Mr Nand Kishore ran for safety.

Mr Bajakhana got three bullet injuries on the head and two on the chest. Mr Gura Singh suffered injuries on his foot after he jumped into a roadside depression. Mr Nand Kishore, brother of the deceased, remained unhurt.

Two of the four assailants came out of their car when the car of Darshan Bajakhana slowed down for giving way to a tractor-trailer, which was coming from the opposite side. The two assailants first abused Darshan Bajakhana and then started firing at him. From the empty shells of the bullets recovered from the spot, the police authorities suspected that two .32 bore revolvers were used in the crime.

Meanwhile, fear gripped residents of this town after the incident. Some shopkeepers downed their shutters. The assailants, who were travelling in a white unnumbered Santro car, escaped without any hindrance after committing the crime. Residents also raised slogans against the Punjab Government at the local Civil Hospital, where the body of Darshan Bajakhana was kept.

Official sources said that suspecting the involvement of contract killers in the crime, the district police authorities had announced a reward to anyone providing any clue of the killers.

Mr Kapil Dev, SSP, who reached the spot along with Mr Ajay
Maluja, SP (D), said nakas had been put up at various places.

He said a case had been registered in the local police station against Prabhjinder Singh, alias
Dimpy, resident of Chand Bhan village in Faridkot district, Khuswinder Singh, Nirmal Singh, Jaswinder Singh and Gurmeet Singh, all related with liquor trade and residents of Bathinda district and a police official under Sections 302, 148, 149 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

The case was registered on the statement of Mr Nand Kishore, brother of deceased, who alleged that the accused had hired contract killers for murdering his brother.

Information gathered by TNS revealed that Mr
Bajakhana, who was in liquor business for the past many decades, was harbouring enmity against certain criminals and a police official. Mr
Bajakhana, who was being given temporary security by the Faridkot police on some special occasions, had been requesting the police authorities for making arrangements to provide him permanent security, as he was facing threat to his life from his “known enemies”.

Meanwhile, Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, Member Parliament, who reached this town late in the evening, alleged that the state government had been behind such incidents as it was trying to create fear psychosis among people to reap benefits in the next Lok Sabha poll.

She asked why security provided to Mr Darshan Bajakhana had been withdrawn by the police authorities.

Pathankot, February 19
The local police claims to have busted a fake recruitment racket by booking three persons, including a couple.

Avtar Singh, Milkhi Ram and Ashok Kumar, residents of Kotli Harchandan village, under the Kahnuwan police station, in their complaint lodged with the District Gurdaspur Police chief R.P.S. Brar alleged that the accused had taken a sum of Rs 6.75 lakh for getting their kin recruited in the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) last year.

They alleged that the accused even managed “training” of their kin for jobs. However, when they failed to get jobs for them, the matter was reported to the police.

The accused have been identified as Iqbal Singh, Kumar Krishan Wadhera and his wife A.K. Wadhera — all local residents.

A case under Sections 420, 465, 467, 471 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered and A.K. Wadhera arrested.

Bathinda, February 19
Mehta Singh, of Bambiha village of this district died and his associate Mr Balwinder Singh was injured severely when a stray animal hit their scooter near Gill Patti village on Bathinda-Goniana road while they were coming to the city from Jaitu town of Faridkot district today afternoon.

Mehta Singh and Balwinder Singh, were severely injured, were shifted to civil hospital here by the Sahara Jan Sewa volunteers, Mehta Singh succumbed to his injuries two hours after he was brought to the hospital. Condition of Balwinder Singh was stated to be serious.

Two other persons — Jaskaran Singh and Jaspal Singh, of villages Gill Patti and Kot Bakhtu respectively, were injured severely when the scooter they were riding was hit by a vehicle on the Bathinda-Mansa road. Both injured were admitted to the civil hospital here by Sahara Jan Sewa volunteers.

Anandpur, February 19
In a suspected case of rape and murder, the body of an unidentified woman was recovered near the Dasgraih bridge on the Anandpur Sahib-Nangal road this morning. It was found lying in the fields by some villagers, who informed the police.

Police sources said the woman seemed to be aged between 30-35 and was killed with some sharp-edged weapons. As the clothes and shoes of the woman were recovered from the bushes nearby, the police was of the view that she was raped and killed by the assailants and her body was thrown along the road later.

The SP (Detective) Ropar and the DSP Anandpur Sahib reached the spot and conducted the investigations.

This is the second such incident in the area in the past three months. The body of a woman was found on the railway track near Nangal.

The Railway Police had managed to nab the killers of the woman from an adjoining village in this case. The killers were alleged paramours of the woman.

Ropar, February 19
Two passengers of Maruti Zen car (DL-8C-9283), including Rajesh Kumar of Anandpur Sahib and Naresh Kumar of Jalandhar cousins were killed when their vehicle met with an accident with truck (HP-11-2005) near Bunga Sahib on the Ropar-Kiratpur Sahib road. The third passenger of the car Vijay Kumar brother of Rajesh Kumar was also injured seriously in the accident. He has been referred to the PGI Chandigarh. The police has registered a case under Sections 279, 304-A, 338 and 427 of the IPC against unidentified truck driver who fled from the scene.

Ludhiana, February 19
The district police today recovered nearly Rs 22 lakh hawala money from six persons operating through three shops in Shiv Market in the Division No. 6 area here. The arrests were made late tonight and the accused were handed over to the Income Tax Department officials.

Three of the accused were running the shops while the other three were customers or alleged agents of the hawala racket. DSP R.K. Bakshi, who headed the team, revealed to The Tribune that the police had recently got secret information about the activities of the hawala agents here.

The accused have been identified as Sanjay Kumar, Bharat Bhai, Dashrath, Vijay Kumar, Amit Verma and Kundan Lal. They have been handed over to Mr Ajay Kumar Sharma, Deputy Divisional Officer, Income Tax.

EDUCATION

Vedic institute’s centenary celebrationsOur Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, February 19
On the completion of the hundred years of its formation Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute (VVRI) Sadhu Ashram
Hoshiarpur, is celebrating its centenary from February 27 to February 29 here. This was disclosed by Dr I.D. Uniyal, hononary director of the institution here yesterday.

Dr Uniyal said the VVRI was established by Shami Vishveshvaranand and Swami Nityanand at Shanti Kuti, Shimla in 1903. From Shimla the institute was shifted to Indore and then to Lahore in 1923. After Partition it was shifted to Sadhu Ashram Hoshiarpur. He said a national Vedic conference would be organised from February 27 to 29.

Jalandhar, February 19
Hundreds of students of different engineering colleges affiliated to Punjab Technical University (PTU) today participated in a rally in front of the university office here demanding revocation of the 24 credit system in the examination.

The students burnt an effigy of the Vice-Chancellor, Mr Y.S. Rajan. Gurpal Singh Dhaliwal, the state vice-president of the Students Federation said though they had given several submission for nothing concrete had been done.

Meanwhile, a relay fast, being observed by the students, entered its third day.

Fatehgarh Sahib, February 19
To provide better infrastructure and facilities to students as well as teachers, the state government has initiated “Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan” scheme and Rs 5 crore has been earmarked for the purpose out of which Rs 2 crore had already disbursed , said Dr Harbans Lal, MLA, Sirhind, while addressing a function at Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Bassi Pathana, today. He handed over a cheque for Rs 3 lakh to the school authorities as grant for the construction of rooms.

He said that though the previous Akali government failed to provide even basic amenities such as
drinking water, buildings, electricity, toilets and furniture for the students and teachers, now the Congress govt had taken an initiative. There would be a change in the education set-up of the state.

He said a survey would be conducted under the “Education for All” scheme.

Malout, February 19
Scientists from India and abroad participated in a two-day seminar on “Photonic: Emerging Science and Technology”, organised at the local Guru Teg Bahadar Khalsa Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Dr U. S. Chawla, Dean of the institute, in a press note issued here on Tuesday said four sessions were held and lectures delivered.

Mr Khush Brar of Lucent Technologies, USA, who delivered a talk on “Cladding Pumped Fiber Laser and Amplifier” was honoured by the Director of the institute, Dr T. S. Kamal.

Zirakpur, February 19
More than 50 students from Chandigarh, Panchkula, Zirakpur and surrounding areas were examined in a free intelligence, performance and personality evaluation programme by Dikshant International School, Zirakpur, here today.

Renowned psychologist, Dr Shashi Sethi, a former associate of Neuro Psychology at PGI, Chandigarh examined the children between age group of 2 years to 12 years.

According to Mrs. Garima Dikshit, Principal, revealed that such evaluations help in understanding the potential of the child and in making children perform better.

On the occasion not only the Intelligence Quotient but also Performance Quotient and Emotional Quotient of each child was also evaluated. “It’s been seen that sometimes a child has good IQ but is still not performing well. This happens because EQ of the child is disturbed owing to various reasons like stress and unhappy home,” added Dr Sethi.

She also stressed that upbringing of children should strike a balance between discipline and love and affection. During an open discussion on children’s learning process, problems and their remedies were discussed the parents of the students who joined the programme.